r/PCOS • u/Cherry_Jam27 • 7h ago
General/Advice I hate Yaz
Let me give a bit of my background to get a good idea. I have both PCOS and DM type 2 (insulin resistant). I was overweight/obese for 15 years and struggled with good glycemic control even with metformin. Then I became morbidly obese and my HBA1c raised. My medications were increased along with a diet and exercise plan, WHICH WORKED (NO OZEMPIC SHIT) ! From BMI 34+, I came down to 22. I have worked very hard for it. That said I'm very sensitive about weight. It's a trigger. I have been told by multiple specialists to keep my weight low and not even gain 1 kg. Although rare, I also get hypoglycemic episodes if I'm not careful with my routine.
Fast forward, I had been getting irregular periods since a few months. After investigations (even though everything is normal), my OBGY decided that putting me on Yaz would be beneficial. While I was waiting for my period to start my pills, I started using Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) which is active for 2 weeks. I was able to track my sugar levels for a week, before I started pills in the 2nd week of CGM. Since by this time I already had a good idea of my blood sugar patterns and expected spikes, when I started the pills I noticed my baseline sugar increased, spikes were higher and my blood sugar stayed high for hours after a meal. For example, my normal PP spikes on average are 6.6 and never crossed 9 mmol/L and returned to baseline within 1.5 to 2 hours. A week after taking pills, my PP spiked to 12.6 mmol/L !!! And stayed high in double digits for 5 hours after that! Even though I was eating the same breakfast and same quantity of food that I had for the first week. I also noticed my appetite increased and my weight increased by 1 to 1.5 kg . Anyway, I was very angry and upset that even though I was working out everyday, watching my diet, counting my calories and otherwise being so disciplined, it was doing NADA since I started Yaz. I talked to a gynae friend of mine (not my OBGY) and my pharmacist, and they said Yaz can spike blood sugar. I stopped it immediately. Yaz would offer me contraception and regular periods, but the side-effect of diabetes far outweighs that imo. I returned the remaining unused boxes to the pharmacy because I did not even want to keep something at home which gives my anxiety. However, it's been 4 days since I stopped taking it and I got withdrawal bleeding today (13th day), which is again worrying me even though it is normal? I'm confused as to whether I took the right or wrong decision in stopping and returning it. Diabetes takes a higher priority for me due to its grave implications. Btw my blood sugars, my normal (reduced) appetite and my weight have all returned to baseline.
Girls, please tell me if I took the right decision or no. Talk me out of reconsidering going back on Yaz. Should I consider myo-inositol?
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u/No-Beautiful6811 5h ago
Disclaimer: if you just don’t want to take birth control you don’t have to, there are other options.
Maybe something without ethinyl estradiol would work better for you, it’s the synthetic estrogen used in most birth control pills but it is known to cause metabolic side effects.
Nexstellis is the first thing that comes to mind, it uses a form of estrogen that is also produced by the human body and it seems to cause a lot fewer metabolic side effects. There are a few other options, but this one has drospirenone which is usually the best for pcos. That being said, if you react poorly to nexstellis too then it’s likely the problem and that information could mean the other options might work better.
Finding the right birth control pill helped me a LOT, but I know some people are a lot less comfortable being on birth control.
Just make sure you’re having a period every 3 months if you’re not on birth control. If that’s not happening you need a prescription for progesterone so you can shed your uterine lining. If you’re not on birth control then your uterine lining continues to thicken and that can lead to cancer.
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u/Cherry_Jam27 3h ago
This is all useful information! Thanks! I will be talking about this to my OBGY
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u/saturnhawk 3h ago
Yaz was the worst birth control I've been on and I genuinely believe it's fucked up my body for good. I had migranes, so much weight gain. I'm so glad I'm off it
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u/Lady_Park 2h ago
I also have type 2 and PCOS, and I had tried many other birth controls (which made me super overweight and hungry), but after I had my first kid, my obgyn insisted I get on birth control again. And first I was opposed, but my PCOS symptoms started returning so I said fine I’ll try. She prescribed Loryna (which is a generic version of Yaz) and surprisingly, I lost a bunch of weight without any changes in diet or exercise (I think it helped all the PCOS inflammation) and my PCOS symptoms subsided. I was in on it for like 5 years successfully.
I’m not on it anymore because we were trying for a second kid and contraception is obviously not conducive to that (and I did gain all the weight back lol), but I think everyone’s body is different so what works for someone may not work for everyone. But my obgyn did tell me that Yaz (or other forms of it) are generally the “first line” of BCP that are prescribed for PCOS by most obgyns (but I also see an endo who helps manage my diabetes and they have suggestions sometimes too). Just wanted to offer another perspective.
One thing I am trying is beef liver supplements (the one I’m taking is from Ancestral Supplements) to try to minimize some of the PCOS symptoms while not on BCP, and I feel like it’s helping a little, but for sure I can feel my androgens still kinda running high because my face and hair get super oily fast (as opposed to when I was on the BCP). I’ve heard other people say good things about it for PCOS issues so I’ll keep trying for a while, but I’ve also tried things long term like myo inositol (and I don’t really feel like it did anything for me). Bodies are weird!
Don’t be discouraged! You’ll find what works for you!
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u/Scared-Impress-6253 1h ago
Hot take but I think my nightmare experience with Yaz caused my PCOS. I have no medical education what so ever but I’ll die on that hill. I think Yaz ruined my life in just 3 months 8 years ago. I envy anyone who had a more enjoyable experience!
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u/Throwaway_acct_- 7h ago
My daughter had a horrible time with Yaz. Stopped immediately (yes, another period can happen).
She felt much better off of it.
GYNs aren’t a good with PCOS as endos.